Burnham calls for grooming gang ringleader to be deported

Key Points:

• Andy Burnham plans to urge the home and foreign secretaries to explore all possible options, including deportation, for Shabir Ahmed, the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, upon his upcoming release from prison.
• Ahmed, convicted in 2012 for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences, cannot currently be deported to Pakistan due to protections under the Immigration Act 1971, as he arrived in the UK before 1973 and lived there for over five years.
• The Home Office is working with other government departments to find solutions but acknowledges that deportation requires the receiving country's agreement, which has been challenging in this case.
• Victims and advocacy groups express concern over Ahmed's release, emphasizing the need for community safety and support for survivors, while Burnham stresses that victims must come first.
• Previous calls by Burnham and others have urged the government to strengthen measures against foreign national offenders involved in grooming gangs, though legal changes to allow retrospective deportation appear difficult.